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I have an assistance dog

Individual countries and airlines determine their own regulations about access for assistance dog teams, and as you know, some only allow access for teams that were trained and certified by an Accredited ADI Member or International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) program.

ADI does not make these determinations or have any influence over decisions about access for individual teams. You may need to work with the disability services department of the airline to see if there are exceptions to the regulations for access both in the airport and on board the plane.

ADI or any of our member programs do not just administer tests to verify or certify any type of assistance dog. The only way someone who has personally trained their dog may receive verification from an ADI accredited program would be to become a client of an accredited program. Some ADI accredited programs will accept a privately trained team for evaluation and possible further training/certification, however ADI standards require that there is a minimum six-month training period for these teams. There are no exceptions to this standard.

Another resource you may wish to contact is the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners. This is a worldwide consumer group of individuals who have assistance dogs. They have travel information on their website and members you can contact about to ask about travel issues, etc.

We recognize the challenges that are currently facing airlines regarding requests from customers to be accompanied by emotional support dogs on flights. Neither ADI or International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) recognize emotional support dogs and our accredited member programs do not train, place or certify emotional support dogs.

ADI is a coalition of non-profit organizations that raise, train and place assistance dogs. ADI does not directly provide, train, certify or register individual assistance dogs or assistance dog teams, as that is the function of our member organizations.

As the legal access laws and airline regulations vary considerably worldwide and governments and airlines determine their own policies, ADI does not make specific recommendations about whether emotional support dogs can or should be allowed to accompany their owners on flights. Each airline makes these decisions internally and in compliance with their government regulations. Some airlines will accept a letter from a medical professional that verifies the need for the dog, while others will only accept task-trained dogs that were provided by an ADI or IGDF accredited program.

If you are an individual with a disability and are partnered with a trained assistance dog, you have public access rights in most countries. If someone denies you access to their business, you may try to politely explain the local laws. If you are further denied public access with your assistance dog, you may elect to contact the local law enforcement authorities to explain the local laws to the business owner.